Global change may cause irreversible changes in European vegetation; given that drought frequency, area and duration will increase, forest composition, structure, and extension might be profoundly affected. Besides, increasing heat may stress plants, and disturbance related to drought may increase (e.g., fire) as well as pathogen attacks pertaining to globalization and the intercontinental exchange of goods. Today Abies alba, the tallest tree species in Europe, mainly grows in cool and moist areas. Strikingly, recent findings indicate the Holocene and Eemian expansion of A. alba under warm-temperate to subtropical conditions in Southern Europe under moderate summer droughts. New surveys also reveal the presence of cryptic submediterranean and mesomediterranean stands of A. alba, at the warmest sites mixed with evergreen broadleaved species under warm and summer-dry conditions. This novel finding underpins that A. alba might be regionally adapted to cope with warm Mediterranean climates, with important implications for nature restoration and forest management in Europe.
